PART III: In a series on the MNRRA
The Hastings Bridge. The MNRRA extends along 72 miles of the Mississippi River starting just below Hastings, MN and extending northward along the river.
This third installment in a series of articles on the Mississippi National River and Recreation Area (MNRRA), referenced as a potential precedent for the Hudson River Valley Special Resource Study Act (H.R. 4003) introduced November 2009 by Congressman Maurice Hinchey, explores the framework of this National Park Service designation’s Comprehensive Management Plan (CMP). Part IV in this series will summarize the management goals and content of the CMP.
A final CMP for the MNRRA was released to the public in 1994 and approved by the secretary of the interior in 1995. The purpose of this plan is to:
(1) protect, preserve, and enhance the significant values of the Mississippi River corridor through the Twin Cities metropolitan area;
(2) encourage coordination of federal, state, and local programs; and
(3) provide a management framework to assist the state of Minnesota and units of local government in the development and implementation of integrated resource management programs and to ensure orderly public and private development in the area.
To accomplish these goals the CMP prescribes a two-tiered approach:
Tier 1 calls for the maintenance and improvement of the state Mississippi River Critical Area Program and the state shoreland management program. Local governments are already required to comply with the standards of these programs, and this does not change.
Tier 2 is a voluntary move that local governments can make by updating their community plans and ordinances to incorporate land use, resource protection, and open space policies as described in the CMP. Local governments pursuing this tier can request funding and technical assistance. Technical assistance for plan development is available from the Metropolitan Council and ordinance development is available from the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources.
Tier 1 is the initial goal, as it requires more effective implementation of existing state and regional programs. However, the long-term goal is to have all of the communities reach tier 2 and fully implement the MNRRA plan to achieve all of the plan’s purposes.
To fulfill these two tiers of implementation, the NPS collaborates with 25 local governments, several state agencies, and many civic organizations. The Mississippi River Coordinating Commission, with the assistance of the focus groups formed early in the CMP planning process, developed vision and purpose statements that function as the CMP’s groundwork for implementation. This is carried out through a partnership framework composed of collaboration at the federal, state, and local levels, allowing this national park designation to be referred to as a “partnership park.”
This partnership approach relies upon coordination between different levels of government to manage the corridor. The plan adopts and incorporates the state critical area program, shorelands program, and other applicable state and regional land use management programs that implement the visions and concepts identified for the corridor. An important feature of the CMP is that it does not create another layer of government, but rather stresses the use of existing authorities and agencies.
The CMP states that it “will not prevent new development or expansion of existing development in the corridor that is consistent with state and regional land use management programs. It is not a regulatory document and does not mandate actions by non-NPS entities. The NPS and the commission do not have approval authority over local plans and ordinances, and they do not have authority to approve or deny project-specific land use decisions.”
Local governments retain local control of land use decisions consistent with applicable state and regional land use management programs. Land use management consistent with the MNRRA CMP is encouraged through an emphasis on incentives, including a grant program authorized in the MNRRA act, but yet to be funded by Congress.
In summary, the CMP framework, as directed by legislation, establishes a vision and provides a flexible structure for local, state, federal, and civic organizations to collaborate on preserving cultural resources and visual character, managing land and water, and enhancing visitor use, tourism, and economic development in the Mississippi River corridor through the Twin Cities metropolitan area. The next installment in this series will describe in more detail the programmatic goals of this management plan.
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PART III: In a series on the MNRRA
The Hastings Bridge. The MNRRA extends along 72 miles of the Mississippi River starting just below Hastings, MN and extending northward along the river.
This third installment in a series of articles on the Mississippi National River and Recreation Area (MNRRA), referenced as a potential precedent for the Hudson River Valley Special Resource Study Act (H.R. 4003) introduced November 2009 by Congressman Maurice Hinchey, explores the framework of this National Park Service designation’s Comprehensive Management Plan (CMP). Part IV in this series will summarize the management goals and content of the CMP.
A final CMP for the MNRRA was released to the public in 1994 and approved by the secretary of the interior in 1995. The purpose of this plan is to:
(1) protect, preserve, and enhance the significant values of the Mississippi River corridor through the Twin Cities metropolitan area;
(2) encourage coordination of federal, state, and local programs; and
(3) provide a management framework to assist the state of Minnesota and units of local government in the development and implementation of integrated resource management programs and to ensure orderly public and private development in the area.
To accomplish these goals the CMP prescribes a two-tiered approach:
Tier 1 calls for the maintenance and improvement of the state Mississippi River Critical Area Program and the state shoreland management program. Local governments are already required to comply with the standards of these programs, and this does not change.
Tier 2 is a voluntary move that local governments can make by updating their community plans and ordinances to incorporate land use, resource protection, and open space policies as described in the CMP. Local governments pursuing this tier can request funding and technical assistance. Technical assistance for plan development is available from the Metropolitan Council and ordinance development is available from the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources.
Tier 1 is the initial goal, as it requires more effective implementation of existing state and regional programs. However, the long-term goal is to have all of the communities reach tier 2 and fully implement the MNRRA plan to achieve all of the plan’s purposes.
To fulfill these two tiers of implementation, the NPS collaborates with 25 local governments, several state agencies, and many civic organizations. The Mississippi River Coordinating Commission, with the assistance of the focus groups formed early in the CMP planning process, developed vision and purpose statements that function as the CMP’s groundwork for implementation. This is carried out through a partnership framework composed of collaboration at the federal, state, and local levels, allowing this national park designation to be referred to as a “partnership park.”
This partnership approach relies upon coordination between different levels of government to manage the corridor. The plan adopts and incorporates the state critical area program, shorelands program, and other applicable state and regional land use management programs that implement the visions and concepts identified for the corridor. An important feature of the CMP is that it does not create another layer of government, but rather stresses the use of existing authorities and agencies.
The CMP states that it “will not prevent new development or expansion of existing development in the corridor that is consistent with state and regional land use management programs. It is not a regulatory document and does not mandate actions by non-NPS entities. The NPS and the commission do not have approval authority over local plans and ordinances, and they do not have authority to approve or deny project-specific land use decisions.”
Local governments retain local control of land use decisions consistent with applicable state and regional land use management programs. Land use management consistent with the MNRRA CMP is encouraged through an emphasis on incentives, including a grant program authorized in the MNRRA act, but yet to be funded by Congress.
In summary, the CMP framework, as directed by legislation, establishes a vision and provides a flexible structure for local, state, federal, and civic organizations to collaborate on preserving cultural resources and visual character, managing land and water, and enhancing visitor use, tourism, and economic development in the Mississippi River corridor through the Twin Cities metropolitan area. The next installment in this series will describe in more detail the programmatic goals of this management plan.